one of the  building supply  shuttles  left the   'loading dock' that was established .  Captain Kush a  talk broad shouldered  Black Man stood in Duty  Uniform with a  cup of  coffee, Two women flanked him, a Commander and  a LC.  three Men stood with Him, a Marine  Captain, a Marine LT, and  an LC with Wings on his chest.

  When Shadow   lead the others out of the  shuttle. The Captain frowned,What is the Meaning of this? I was  Expecting Admiral Hack, or Admiral Hennings..or  even the Board?

  At  Ease Captain Kush.... we're the  inspection team..The Admiral has other  irons in the fire, so he sent us...

 The others looked back and  forth.

 I am not  a custom to dealing with   subordinates, and those  below  my rank...

 This should be the Last time  you need to worry about that? But I am the WC of  the  gods be damned Delta Fleet... Next to me  is  SM  Spencer.. THE...SM of the gods be damned Delta fleet... SGT Zob is  our rep  for our  'alien' allies, Ensign Morrison and  CPL  Riss are along to  keep us company.

 So why did you need the  who Staff here? I could have sent....

 BECAUSE..... the word  snapped out like a dagger thrust,....The Ad,iral  wishes  for us tyo  inspect the Hanger with the Bridge Staff.  Myself or the  SM, or any of  mY grtoup will ask questions, they will be answered,,,,

 I will not be spoken to like that on  my ship  I'll....

 This isn't  'YOUR'  ship. Its  the Delta  Fleet's  ship...and  right now  you broke the toy they let you play with.... if you want to keep this  ship, you damn well better  stop posturing  and   we can begin this inspection, so my  team can salvage a bit more   shore leave out of the last   2 hours....

 As  is his wont, Shadow  taps  numbers into his COM  and holds it out,..unless you feel the need to second guess  The Admiral's orders, you are welcome to use  my COM...he'll answer mine....

Zob kept it cool as Shadow spoke to Kush his eyes glared at the bridge crew a strong demonic intensity, he had the gut feeling the fighting could erupt at any moment so he was on high alert with a firm grip on his heavy pulse.

Billie was quiet, watching the whole proceedings. Admittedly, there was a part of her that was a little nervous...like she was witnessing something she shouldn't be given that she was basically a rookie but here she was. There were repeatedly times she had to remind herself to breath though.

  Kush drew himself up, he stood  about  2 inches taller then the LC, but ...somehow seemed  shorter.

  Very well Come this   way  I'll show you the   entrance for the  workers and...

 Shadow stood there and started to laugh, The Heimdall  officers  loked at him  with cold  eyes...Ok?   'Captain'....I'll take real slolw  like..so you can understand this.... I am the WC  of the  Delta  Fleets.... SM Spencer..is  THE  SM  of  the Delta Fleet..all of you...even the Dainty one...

Vola  snapped,Don't call me  ....dainty...

 Shadow just  waved of  with distaste.I meant Captain Stues...

 Stues    growled,...now see here!

 As you  were... not..understand this.... If  The Admniral sent  the little kid  who is in charge of our  baby largs over  to inspect this..you would have to answer to him... WE ARE, the Admiral....now..LEAD US...on to the Hanger dec, we will look around  and  ash Questions

 Vola sneered,what does the Pretty one  do?

 Shadow  tgave her a dead pan look,I told you , as  a Hybrd  Demon, he  is representing the aliens....sheesh...

 Vola Pointed to   Billie  and just gave  up as they  started to walk  down  a  catwalk that was   Build  for  replacing the  plates and   piping.

 Stues   looked at Roy,..why hasn't some one killed him yet...

Zob just grunted as he followed along keeping his eyes on the group, "You don't want to know" was all he said only giving short answers.

Roy gave Stues a withering look.  "Lots of people have died trying."  It was tempting to let a veiled threat creep into the tone, but Roy kept it extremely matter-of-fact.

"As for Ensign Morrison here, what she does is need-to-know information.  And you don't need to know."  Without raising his voice or even particularly changing his tone, he somehow managed to make it clear that he thought Voles was an idiot for even asking.

Shifting his focus to Kush as they walked, he commented, "I understand you lost a significant portion of your Marine contingent.  What happened, Captain?"  Again, very matter-of-fact...no hint of judgment...nor sympathy, for that matter.  Just an inquiry.

  Kush  walked   , slightly ahead of   Shadow,..I should have thought you would have  cleaned up, before  coming  on an inspection tour...

 ..Survival   run, and the Village that  'hosted it' seems to Like Hermes  folks, so we were hanging out with them, They knew where we came from,  they don't mind a bit of mug and  water, or blood for that matter...

 he looked around  , purposefully eyeing   the   dress uniforms,some people  feel the need  for Dress up I suppose..

  Captain Stues and  LT Mark  stayed near  Roy , since he was the only  'Marine' there... Stues  talked, he wasn't talking overly loud, but  it wasn't  hard to see he  was making sure  the  words were heard.

 When  our 'genius ' Admiral decided  to  sail into the teeth of the roussian Guns, we  took  some  rounds,  and   as   we  tried to  pass through the 'hole  The  Hermes  and Athena  made, we   were board , much like  some  20 other ships.

 Captain Miller  was always a hard head.... he  set his crew  and gathered  all the Marines  and SEC from the area  to set up defenses.. they managed  to beat down  two waves, but  a third  wave  came in and they had heavy Guns... we  tried to Get  Miller to retreat, but he  wouldn't leave the  Hanger Dec, he felt he  could  hold it and wanted  more  men.... Those people with him?  they weren't goign with out Miller...

 Marks  Laughed,In the  end?  they all  went with Miller...

   The Burian  trooper  looked to Shadow for any cues,  But  Shadow just gave a shake of his head.

  Kush  Opened  a  clear glass locker  that had  small  helmets to wear on the   'reconstruction' site..

  as they put on thier  gear, Shadow  asked  Kush,where   were these brave offciers and yourself, while all this went on?

 They were in the war room with me!..they are  my command staff!...

 wait?  Your  WC  was  in the  damn war room?

 Yardly   sneered at Shadow,Not  all of us    are Glory Hounds....

 ..it would seem , that not all of us need to  earn our paycheck either?

Roy's eyes darkened for a flicker of a moment, something far beyond annoyance flashed across his face at Marks' comment.  And just as quickly, it was gone, back to the same studied, neutral expression he typically wore.  "Odd that they focused so much attention on the Heimdall.  Probably thirty other ships went through that same gap, but nobody was so overrun that they had to blow the Hangar to save the ship."

He looked thoughtful for a moment, then seemingly dismissed the point with a shake of his head.  Internally, he was seething...externally, only those truly familiar with him would notice any sign of perturbation.

"The personnel that came over to the Hermes are an interesting lot...who selected them for the assignment?"
This message was last edited by the player at 00:07, Thu 08 Apr 2021.

  Kush waved  a  hand at Stues and  Marks......They deal with the assignments....

 who is your adjutant?

 Kush chuckled,Brian Masters?.. some  sot from North London, lost both his damn legs  during that 'bird hunt' you all were on with that 'mica  thing?'... he went out the  hanger too... said somehting like...'we can't let them  take the ship.."... With the 'inspecting   helmets-facemasks on  they  Entered  the  hanger  dec.. walked to  the  hatch  of the  catwalk and told the Burian trooper.....no one  comes in here, By  order of Admiral Hack... if they try to get in..you shoot them.. I'll take  any heat there is  for it..

 to Billie he says,you stand inside the hatch...no one leaves, that isn't Hermes.

 Then he  turns  to the Hanger dec. the  Hanger was  less then Halfway done.. frames  were missing in some parts,  only a  few plates went out  in all directions   so the  Crew  could  work in many directions at once.

 I would have  thought the first level of plating would be done by now?

 Kush  and  his overs  had  Moved  deeper  onto the  'dec'... Bura was a beautiful sight..greens  blues  browns and yellows, whites of clouds... vessels  movign  slowly around it...

 Kush sounded  a bit irritated...Damn Greenies    took   crews off  all the ships  except the Harvester, so they could  finish up  that Burian Cap ship.....calling  it  'Lady's Revenge, or some such nonsense...wonder if its  named after a social  diarese ...

 all the Heimdall  folks  laughed..Shadow didn't  as his eyes  saw  the   ship... there was some ESN influence, but the Burians  built that ship and it was easy to tell the style difference.

Roy grit his teeth.  Even if he didn't know about Kush's shady connections, the laughter at the demise of heroic men was enough to set him on edge.  "Strange behavior for a commanding officer to laugh about the loss of a hand-picked staff member..." He actually didn't know if Masters had been picked or assigned, but the comment opened the way to find out if the rest of Kush's staff were all picked by him.  If they were, he had no qualms at all about getting rid of the whole lot of them.  Kush had already displayed the kind of personnel he tended to pick...

Zob adjusted his position in the group letting himself fall to the rear of the party, he kept a stoic expression on his face despite the obvious disrespect and said nothing as he followed the group waiting for any cue from Shadow or Roy.

  Kush  waved his hand,..Hand Picked?.. Not  by me, I think Miller  got him to sign on. I mean. what good  is  a man with no legs?

 Shadow   was trying hard not  to  just  start pushing folks off the hanger  dec,  The static  envelope w was  large, but  it  wouldn't  save them for long, maybe a minute  of 'free fall'

 Captain Morris  has One leg, we have several  SEC  troopers  who have two  bio-tech legs.. all of them are guys, and don't hide  from battle or thier  duty, never saw them tucked  away in the War room while rounds were flying on the Hanger dec.

 Now see here LC... if you are going to disrespect...

 Shadow held up his hand,..you lost any right to say that, after the  banter you tossed  around... Now, since you all watched  the vids.. Show  as, as close  as possible, where  people  stood?...

 ..what has this  to do with  inspecting ring the   Dec?

 Shadow  turned  to the marine Captain,..I am here..because the Admiral asked   me  and  my team to come here  and take care of this, so he could   keep meeting with  important people...so?  to speed this  along, so we can grab what little time on the ground as we are able...how about you shut your mouth..and answer  my questions....if it makes it easier?... pretend  they come straight  from the Admiral..because.. when I'm done here.. you all will still have your rank..... if the Admiral  comes here..well...it will depend on what he sees  and hears...so...show me..NOW...

 Kush moved over  the   unfinished   'bow end'..pointing  close to the  Bow  wall.Miller  was there, behind  crates and barrels, he had, some  marines with him and a med tech.. the med Tech was  working on troopers.... Master was ....

 Stues  walked out a bit further  with  Marks....right here?  there was a broken mantis  here, they were behind.. master , and  about  6 troopers  ,  and 3 wounded or dead, they were  covered by a wing

 The  WC  was  as close to the Middle  edge as possible... there  was a  blown  Roussian shuttle here, and  some grounds crew and  SEC were there...

 the  LC and Commander  where about  20 yards  away from  Kush, on his half  of the  dec..The had   two heavy Pulse set up here... alot of bodies  around it, hard to tell which ones  were dead, or wounded, because they were takign alot of fire

Kush pointed to the massive  area of space.....another   Roussian  shuttle  hand landed there,, and  began to pour  our troops, Miller   said   he needed more people   but  i didn't think  they could hold them, I couldn't lose the Ship...

 Shadow  nodded slowly,   he  reached   around and grabbed a belt,  tossing a pair to Billie   for her  and the  trooper.. then tossed  another one  to Roy and  Zob, he grabbed one  more  for himself and secure it to a hold in the Dec  Plating.

 Kush titled his head,..what's that you are doing?

 Saftely rules.... in a construction site, with no atmo, you have to be secure... page somehting, in some paragraph, in some kind of manual..not real sure which one..I'm not a 'book officer'

 Stues laughs...aren't you a pilot?.. you afraid of heights?

 The   the WC , who started to laugh..suddenly stopped...as he looked at Shadow...

 Now...everyone  keep  quiet.... if your  damn lucky, when i leave here, you get to keep your rank...

 Then he played the  COM call Izzy dug up.. that lead to the   blowing of the hanger dec.

 as  the   sounds played out.. Kush  began to walk towards Shadow, Kray pulled out his Sanri and just shook his head. Kush stopped..

 When the  COM ended.. everyone was quiet...

 slowly..Kush said,..how...how did you get that...

 The Hermes  has the most bad  has  COM Tech officer, that might ever live..and.. when you add on people  busting their ass along side her, and the  things  she can do with 'certain' deep  dive Tech..well... Lets just say, we're  waiting  for her to get the COM chatter between  god and the devil at the garden of eden...

 The Commander  's eyes were wide, easy to see in the plastic mask.you're  Lights  Out....

 I would say you aren't as stupid  as you look...but..no one could be?..So? Tell me the real reason you blew the Hanger..another  10 men would have held it.. 20 more would have sent the  eggplants running...I mean..you have shown you are all gutless, hiding in the  war room... gods be damned  WC in the War room..I should shoot you just for that.

 The Commander  shook her head,They couldn't be trusted.... they...

 They were real ESN people, not  gutless wonders, who hideaway...look for the easy way out..right?.. they were fighting the good fight..., but you didn't want that..you couldn't let the be over run, but you couldn't let them survive..so you blew the  hanger, and wiped your   discs... and never,,ever  though about all the  100's of ships in the fleet, that had all that  in thier passive  COM  files..

 ...what are you going to do....

 Me?... Nothing, unless i have to shoot any of you for  running..now the SM... see? he's the nice one..level headed and  all that..me  and Zob..we just kill stuff.. So... after hearing  you all, and  you all hearing the COMs... The  Good  SM, is going to decide  what to do.... either..Hit that   button there, and suck you all out to The Black... or shoot you up a bit?...

 The Commander  started to cry...I don't want to die!...Not like this!

 Stues voice was shaking....i have a wife...2 kids...they..they need me...

 well see?.. that's the thing?.... No one wants to die 'like that'..but you allowed it to happen, to men and  women who were protecting your Gods be damned Home.... And Stues?... This stuff that happened  with Frost..and with all of you.... The Admiral ruled a 'deep clean'.. that means.. you..and your families are getting wiped... your families will be done, in such away, to send a message to the EDT...Its harsh..but it might save some good guy lives in the end..

 while the SM makes his judgement.. i want all of you to think about the wounded men and  woman who were hoping  for med tech aid, who got sucked out into space.....the dead, who died trying to  keep the  ship  safe..and for those who were alive, when they  found out thier own  officers killed them....Maybe.. you'll see Miller  and  Masters out there.. you can  chat with them, on why you chose to be traitors..

 ...SM... your judgment please...
This message was last edited by the GM at 02:40, Thu 08 Apr 2021.

Roy's voice was cold as ice, speaking as he buckled on the safety belt and clipped his tether to the deck.  "Shoot their helmets...everyone but Kush and Stues.  Since they were the ringleaders for everything we've uncovered, I want them to live long enough to see the rest die."  He paused for a scant moment, adding, as though it were an afterthought, "If you happen to hit them in the head while you're shooting...well, lucky them.  They'll be dead before they start walking back to Earth..."

He pulled his machine pistol and fired a single shot at Marks, that shattered one side of the face plate without hitting anything vital.  "Zob, once we've blown atmo, if you would be so good as to start Kush and Stues on their way to Bura...if they're lucky, they'll run out of air before they start to burn up in the atmosphere.  Stues first, then Kush.  He organized this, he should see it all come unravelled before his eyes."  He turned the pistol on the rest, daring any of them to try and make a fight out of it.

Zob grabbed the belt and locked himself in he had a good idea of what Shadow might do. It was then the confrontation between Kush and Shadow started, Zob raised his heavy pulse and as it hummed to life he held his finger close to the trigger.

After a few seconds when Roy gave the judgement call he nodded, "Understood Sir" he then waited for them to blow atmosphere so he could give the two men the express ride to hell.
This message was last edited by the player at 04:53, Thu 08 Apr 2021.

  Shadow  aimed at the   WC, his  weapon went off  and  hit  Yardly in the shoudler.. The WC    jerks  and screamed as he   twisted  and fell off the unfinished  dec, one hand clinging to the holes in the plates.

 Marks     twisted  and Fell to his knees.. the  final look of horror  as he realized, there would be  no  tribunal , no hearing, no chance of  rescue.

 Stues    sobbed.....But   my family!

 You'll see them soon enough, Standard  O P  for a Deep Clean, is to make sure  the  primary is dead, before you wipe the rest....somethign  the EDT didn't  do with me...

 Yardly was holding on for literally , dear life... The others looked   ath the  4 inside the door with thier weapons...

Zob frowned as he saw Yardly grab on to the ledge and hold on for dear life, this prompted Zob to casually grab his DT5 lean over and put a hard ammo round right between his eyes sending his lifeless body to the dec below before putting the weapon back in its holster, "Lets get this done with..."

   Kush  have  roared  have pleaded,..How  can you do this !..We  are Comrades....

  you stopped being comrades when you  hid in the war rom, like  Gutless wonders.... you became enemies  when you killed your own People... But... There  Might be away   for you not    to fall through the static field...

 The   All looked  at Shadow...

 who set this  all up?

  almost as  one.. they shouted,  " LADY V "

   Lowering his    Sanri, he  said to Roy over his shoulder... Vent them....

 Vola  shouted,..You said  ...

 I said...'might'...

Roy hardly hesitated.  His hand was already reaching for the button by the time Shadow's last statement was made.  There was a sharp tug against the safety tether as the magnetic screens dropped and the atmosphere in the area rushed into empty space...it became eerily quiet with no air to carry the vibrations of the screams of dismay as those except for the pair Zob had grabbed tumbled off the repaired sections of deck and began an eerily balletic freefall as their bodies contorted in reaction to the lack of oxygen.

Roy turned to Zob, pointed at Stues, and then gestured to the open hangar doors...Bura was a verdant promise beneath them, although the promises were very different depending on who was looking.  For Stues and Kush, it was a promise of a hard atmospheric entry and an even harder landing, if anything survived long enough to reach the surface.

Zob nodded and went over to Stues and grabbed him as he tried to resist he sent a powerful blow into the mans stomach before hauling him over to the hangar doors and tossing him out to suffer a rather... horrific death.

It was then he returned to grab Kush and do the same thing, 'You picked the wrong side Kush...' he then ushered him along to the hangar doors after a second to let him watch Stues die Zob then spun him around and kicked Kush out the door as he tumbled out into the void of space.

This time, Billie was holding her breath as she recalled what Rivets said and everything all just clicked. “Holy shit...” she breathlessly muttered to herself, realizing that the others must not know.  That look of surprise was clearly seen, her eyes widen in horror at the realization of what those men did, any thoughts of her not belonging there disappearing. When Roy hit the button, her hand moved to the tether that had kept her securely in place as she watched.

    Horns  went off   as the   screens  went  down  and the Hanger  was vented... The Bodies of the Flag officers  spinning  away, caught in the pull or  Bura's  welcoming grasp.

 This  is PO  Ennds!   What is going on!...  we are sending   crews down now!

 Belay the Crews, there was an accident  on the  Hanger dec reconstution site.... It appears the   bridge Officers did not feel the need to harness themselves, an  'unforseen' tiggers of  the static  field drop  sent them all into The BLack, we are  restoring the  the   static   field  as  i speak... Please  connect me with Admiral hack, and record  this meassage  for the Heimdall's records...

 ..My Gods!, The Captain and the Bridge officers!..what are we going to do!...

 ..PO!..get a grip on yourself... this  is no differant  then if  a broadside  had taken them out......now..get me that Link!

 Aye  aye..Sir, Already Done...

 The  Link was open, Shadow  spoke  first,Admiral hack, This  is LC  Shadow of the  inspection team...  Captain Kush and his bridge officers, were showing us  the  progress on the Hanger Dec...they also explained to us, in some detail, of   what happened when the blew the hanger dec.... Sadly, The  Static  field  emergency drop  was triggered and all the bridge officers  are lost,, some of them should be  hitting Atmo in the next few minutes....PO Ennds of the Heimdall is  listening and recording this  for  General Bale's  investigation, should he choose  to have one.

 .. Indeed  LC  Shadow, it seems the  Heimdall  is cursed abit  with their  Hanger Dec.... PO Ends.. Please send the notification to ALL..ships in the delta Fleet, about the  sad turn of events that has  Befell the Heimdall.. we will begin lookign into replacement officers    after  recall. Have your  senior officer  COM the Hermes  when he is back from Leave

  Aye, Admiral Hack.. Already Done...

   LC  Shadow, I think you and your inspection team, may  return to  Bura, I am sure what insights  you have on the   rebuild  will be good  enough for the board... That is all..see you at the Airfield

  The COMs  shut off... Shadow   unhooked the  bet  and  replaced it in the  safety  control area.

 well.. that went  rather  well.... Lets Go to the  airfield and  suck up the last  45 minute-hour, whatever....

 Looking at the Burian  Trooper  as  they opened the hatch to   take the Catwalk back to the shuttle...I'm  Sure, Troper....

 Po-Li

 ..Trooper  Po-Li... as i was saying, I'm sure   you did not see anyhting    that went on  there as...

 Oh?  Aye , LC.. I saw the  Officers who did not have safety equipment way out on the  dec....and then the  static  field fell... that is about all I saw, LC.. since i was told to watch for anyone  coming down the Car walk...

 Very Good, Po-Li... You could be  a Hermes SEC.... But? Commodore  McKeon might have   other ideas , since she is  trying to build her own Silent strike force..

 he smiled,..I would be happy with either, LC...

 Shadow  looks at  Roy,Damn refreshing, not to deal with head cases...

 There were   guards  at the   Shuttle, they looked worried and downcast.. the SGT among them asked, LC, Begging your pardon, but..does this  mean we won't  be rejoining the fleet?

 Ships  are harder to replace then people, SGT. You'll have your new officers  within the day, i suspect. And once your   ship is finished, you'll be  sailing with us again

 The SGT  smiled a bit and saluted,  then the   Shuttle was on its way to the airfield.

 well..that was rather painless....for us... Lets  make sure. When we  get to the airfield,  I'm gonna make a  quick report to  The Admiral  and then  head back to Shadow Village.. they went through alot of  trouble for us, i should  go there  to say good  bye,  and hang out  a bit.

((Cast off after  shore leave  from  Roussa ))

  Horns  blew    all over the orbiting docks, as  ships  were  let loose  and   powered out  of the docking arms.

  The course was  set  for   Etna..though, the excat route was  not known

On the outside the Burian fleet appeared peaceful as it dove through the black a pair of spears as the two expeditionary task forces moved side by side. On the outer flank of each element was a smaller trio of ships comprised of a cruiser and two destroyers.

Aboard the Command bridge of the Vengeance Sarah and her staff were finalizing orders and operational plans. LC Feeken signed his clearance on the plan and the files routed to Sarah for her review. "Sam, go ahead and set up two separate communications nets and obscuration patterns titled Wolf Pack 1 and Wolf Pack 2, and get me Captains Mappe and Gronier."

Once she had them on the line. "Captains, as you know you're elements were never intended to stay with the expeditionary fleet. Our enemy has had limited success in sending out deep strike task forces to support their allies and ambush ESN/APF assets. To be clear your mission will be a bit different.  First you will support the current operations.

Captain Gonier, you will take Wolf Pack 1, and move to patrol and support the Pit. Your object is not to stand fast and defend rather patrol the space, harass and destroy any Sol EDT or Empire vessels, attempt to take any enemy shipping, and give them something to worry about. The intent is not to win the system but rather force enemy elements to dilute their strength as they have to address and account for multiple threats. We're looking for Guerilla/hit and fade tactics if you cannot win the day.

Captain Mappe, your Wolf Pack will be operating similarly around the Hillite System with the intent of further degrading support to Lady V and her assets. Once the current operational cycle has concluded you both will operate in a hybrid cooperative pattern within a zone centered on the Hillite system. Your primary target will be taking enemy shipping as well as detection of enemy movements from Sol into the Quad, however given an opportunity you are free to engage enemy warships that present targets of opportunity.

Unless you have any further questions your elements are at your disposal happy hunting."

 Sam nodded at Sarah and replied," Already done Ma'am." Sam then using the Morrow buoys and all the tricks Beth taught her and a few of her own and tries to locate any unfriendly or unusual craft within the Vengence's sensors.

Once the conversation with Captain Si concludes "Sam bring the fleet to condition yellow." She says eyeing her screens and the tactical feeds from each of her ships and the elements as a whole as they feed through the various staff elements. Punching a few keys she makes a few adjustments to the two Burian Expeditionary Fleets trajectories imparting a slow orbit fixed on a point between both elements. Even the slow rolls will impart a little targeting difficulty on any enemy vessels that might get lucky in detecting the fleet before the time was right.